Find Industry and Manufacturing expertise in Malawi

In 2009 the industrial sector in Malawi contributed roughly 19% to the country’s GDP (Comesa 2009); while manufacturing contributed 10% to the country’s GDP for the same year, a contribution which has remained steady at the 10% mark since the early 2000’s (World Bank 2010). In a 2010 analysis of employment in Malawi by The international Labour Organisation it was suggested that manufacturing plays a fairly small role the Malawian economy, it was found that roughly 5% of employees in Malawi are employed by the manufacturing sector, while 80% of workers engage in agricultural labour (International Labour Organization 2010).

Major players in the manufacturing industry includes textiles, footwear and clothing; agro-processing (tobacco, tea, sugar, soya, macadamia nuts); and building materials (cement, joinery).  In recent years the production of tobacco in Malawi has decreased significantly,  recent  World Bank Statistics suggest that in 2012 tobacco production in Malawi dropped by 75% in 2012 compared to 2011 (World Bank 2012).

Major players in the manufacturing industry in Malawi include Mapeto (DWSM) ltd, the largest textile manufacturer in Malawi, Mapeto (DWSM) manufacture large quantities of yarn from the initial spinning process right through to printing and dying, they are one of the country’s largest importers, and employ over 1000 workers.

World Bank analysis suggests that the market for manufacturing is limited in part due to Malawi’s relatively small domestic market; while the shortage of skilled workers, low productivity and high transport costs in Malawi limit the capacity for the exportation of manufactured goods. In 2010 the World Bank’s doing business programme rated Malawi as 172 out of 183 countries for difficulties and cost of trading across borders (World Bank, 2010). Malawi’s current export trade is largely dominated by tobacco, tea, cotton, coffee, and sugar.

The 2012-2013 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report rates Malawi as 131 out of 144 countries based on production process sophistication, scoring 2.6 out of 7, where 7 is the most desirable. This is fairly standard score for the region, with Mozambique having a similar score of 127 and 2.7 respectively.

Industry and Manufacturing organisations in Malawi
?Lusaco Industrial Wear
Aero Plastic Industries
Agrosack Industries
Alipo Manufacturing & Trading Co.
Anchor Industries
Arkay Plastic Industry Ltd
Atlas Chemicals Ltd
Binali Cane Furniture & Basketry
BNC Packaging Ltd
Bottling & Brewing Group Ltd
BP Malawi
Cadlex Ltd
Chombe Tea Co.
Cigarette Manufacturing
Commodity Processors Ltd
Countryside Ltd
Eco Systems Ltd
Enterprise Containers
Malata Manufacturing Industries
Malawi Iron and Steel Corp.
Mapanga Furniture Ltd
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Ocean Industries Ltd
Ori Meat Products
Packing Industries Ltd
Paragon Ceramics
Plastico Industries
Rab Processors Ltd
Sheet Metal Industries
Universal Industries
Share